Matt Clement

[MaineDolFan]

Clement was on cruise control last year before taking a rocket line drill off the side of his grill.  He was 10-2 and his ERA was under 2.35 at that time.  After coming back from that scary scene Matt seemed unsure of himself.  His delivery is such that his follow through gives him virtually no chance to defend himself if a ball is hit right back at his face.

So the challenge this offseason was to adjust his delivery follow through.  Simple enough?  No way.  Professional athletes, regardless of the sport, are creatures of habit.  Altering something about a pitchers delivery, no matter how small, can screw with everything. 

Matt pitched tonight against Northeastern University, I'm reviewing game film now.  I'm amazed with the amount of time the man must have put in to changing his style, it's almost like watching a different pitcher.  His confidence is certainly back.  The first pitch he threw was a meat ball that NEU's leadoff kid put into the right field fences.  Matt then sat down the next 6 batters he faced, striking out four of those.

Throwing to college kids and pro players are two completely different things - it's not the results that I'm encouraged by.  I'm encouraged with the guy's mechanics.  I'll be really interested to see how he fares next week when he throws in a split squad game.  But for now I'm happy to see the work he's done this offseason pay off.